The Real Life Inspiration Behind Season 5 of American Horror Story: Hotel

The first images and teasers for the new season of American Horror Story are here, and word is that this is going to be one of the scariest seasons yet.

We got our first look at the characters from American Horror Story: Hotel courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, and whilst these are pretty exciting, it's the story behind the horror that I'm more interested in.

The Teasers

"I think it's about... what is the nightmare in your head? It's not what's externally terrifying, [it's] what are you hiding from in yourself? I think that's a pretty strong theme in this one" - Denis O'Hare

Now, the American Horror Story teasers don't usually give too much away regarding the narrative content, and these super short, super creepy ones don't either. However they do tap into what looks the be the central theme of the creepiness this time round; a claustrophobic nightmare horror knocking upon your door, crawling under your skin.

Ryan Murphy's Personal Horror

"The upcoming season that we're doing is much more horror-based; it's much more dark. It's about a theme and an idea that's very close to my heart that I've always wanted to do that's a little bloodier and grislier I think than anything that we've done before... Murder House, I thought, was a very primal season because everybody's great fear is about the bogeyman under the bed in their house, and this feels similar to me in that when you check into a hotel, there are certain things beyond your control... Other people have the keys to your room; they can come in there. You're not exactly safe, it's a very unsettling idea."

The 'primal' horror of Hotel is, you've guessed it, inspired by real world events. The series was envisioned by Murphy roundabout the time he saw the infamous elevator surveillance footage of 21-year-old Elisa Lam.

Lam, a guest at The Cecil hotel in Los Angeles, died in mysterious circumstances in February 2013. She was found in the water tank of the hotel when guests complained of problems with the water supply, and the circumstances surrounding her death have never been fully explained. Her death became infamous due to the surveillance video which went viral on the internet, showing her acting strangely in the hotel elevator. In the footage Lam repeatedly leaves and returns to the elevator, and appears to be talking to someone who isn't there.

The Hotel Cecil is also known for several suicides and murders that occurred there, and is rumoured to be the last place Elizabeth Short (the Black Dahlia) was seen alive. Brad Falchuk (co-creator) elaborated that Hotel will explore the "trapped" horror trope which, given what we know so far, makes perfect sense.

The Secrets of the Hotel Cortez

Evan Peters as James March

The Hotel Cortez, where our American Horror Story guests will soon be checking in, was built by Evan Peters' character, James March, in 1930.

March, described as a charming but psychotic character, built the hotel to consist of labyrinthine structures with dead ends and secret rooms in which he could act out his murderous tendencies.

Many of the plotlines will revolve around this, and we'll see March himself in flashbacks.

New Antagonists

Season 1 - The Rubber Man

In addition to March, it's been confirmed that there will be two main antagonists this time round: the Ten Commandment Killer and the Addiction Demon.

The Ten Commandment Killer is a murderer who kills his victims in correspondence with biblical dictation, kinda like the Fincher movie Se7en. Wes Bentley's Detective Lowe will be checking into the hotel whilst he investigates this killer, bringing his family with him - big mistake.

The Addiction Demon, on the other hand, sounds more like the Rubber Man from season 1, we don't know that much about it yet but what we do know is... creepy. Murphy describes the character as "a creature... who has no eyes or mouth but does wield a nasty, conical drillbit dildo."

Yikes.

What would you like to see in American Horror Story: Hotel? Are you excited for it, or just plain scared? Let us know in the comments!

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